Digital Toner and Inkjet Presses: When Both Technologies Are Best

With so much recent focus on high-production inkjet, a technology that has proven effective in changing the models in commercially focused digital printing, it can appear that toner-based printing is a technology in decline. While inkjet has certainly stolen some of its thunder, toner-based technologies are still the go-to for certain jobs, prompting producers to keep both technologies in their equipment portfolios.

Utility Knife vs. Razor Blade

Christopher DuBach, executive vice president at Phoenix Innovate, says the company has a strong need for both toner and inkjet systems in its operation.
| Credit: Phoenix Innovate

Describing his company as “a marketing agency with a large print facility background,” Christopher DuBach, executive vice president at Phoenix Innovate in Troy, Michigan, says he has toner-based and inkjet systems in operation. In order to produce its printed products, which lean heavily toward direct mail for education, nonprofits, and other verticals, the company uses Canon imagePRESS C9010 and Canon varioPRINT 6330 TITAN toner-based printers, as well as a Canon varioPRINT iX-series inkjet system. Both processes hold a strong place in production.

DuBach says the toner systems are often used for direct mail applications, particularly postcards, and other work that doesn’t fit well on inkjet systems. He says one decision point he uses in deciding on which system to run certain jobs is ink coverage. “If we’re doing 70-80% ink coverage, we will move to toner devices for better economics.”

The economics DuBach mentions here have to do with click charges — essentially what the printing company must pay to print one impression on the toner-based system, regardless of the amount of coverage. By understanding the breaking point between a per-page click charge and how that compares to inkjet, where cost is based on ink consumption, he can choose the most economical system to use. This assumes, of course, that both technologies are capable of doing the job.

Since its installation, the inkjet system operated by Phoenix Innovate has become a first-choice tool for much of the work the company does.

“We made the decision that if a job can start and stay on the inkjet system, it will,” DuBach says, noting the system holds a tremendous advantage over toner in both print speed and cost. He adds, however, that certain stocks will not work with the inkjet system, thus driving that work to toner, which he describes as “a perfect backup.” Comparing inkjet versus toner, he says, “We think of it as a race car and a sidecar.”

With inkjet firmly established as the go-to at the company, why does the company not convert, totally and completely, to that technology? “That’s an important question,” DuBach says, “and a lot of people are stuck there.” For his company, toner is less preferred for the volumes needed by Phoenix Innovate. Print speed is one huge factor: He says in the same period of time, the varioPRINT iX-series system can handle as much print as the four Xerox iGen machines it replaced.

Other key factors that have made inkjet so attractive for his company, DuBach says, are reliability and stability. Case in point: He says the varioPRINT iX-series system has, in some cases, “run for 20 days straight sometimes, on three shifts. We’re producing millions of pieces per month.” Regarding the stability of the system, he says it is not uncommon to produce a total of one million postcards, done in three waves, for example, a week apart. “All three will look the same,” he shares.

What continues to make toner attractive for the company? DuBach says it is the utility of the systems. “For us, the toner devices are more the utility knife, while the inkjet is more of a razor blade.” In spite of their speed disadvantage, he says toner systems are essential with certain coated or specialty stocks, and because they possess integrated finishing capabilities the inkjet system does not. When asked what capabilities his toner systems have that the company could not do without, he highlights media flexibility, including the use of lightweight and thick stocks, as well as synthetics and plastics. “You can’t be without them and be in print,” he clarifies.

Asked where the technologies overlap, he says that if the inkjet system is at full capacity, it is not uncommon for work to be moved to the toner systems, which he says are color managed to achieve a common result. Within that overlapping space, he says, “there is always an economic decision that will exist.”

In some cases, such as with healthcare-focused jobs, where high regulatory work requires the use of a specialty stock, the company may choose to produce some elements on toner and others on inkjet. These elements are then kitted together for final shipment.

Finally, when asked how he sees the technology choices discussed here changing, DuBach says that while toner-based systems may have reached a point where they are able to go to bigger sheet sizes, he believes the technology has reached “its pinnacle of speed and economics.” He says that because he sees inkjet expanding into so many new and different directions, he thinks “the expansion of inkjet will lead it to become the dominant technology.”

Maintaining Production Flexibility

Asked to describe her West Valley City, Utah-based business, Jennifer Pettinger, CEO at Sun Print Solutions, says it is “all over the board,” using offset, toner, web inkjet and cutsheet inkjet systems to serve verticals, including healthcare.

“And this is Utah,” she adds, “so we also do lotions, potions, and pills.”

Sun Print Solutions uses a variety of technology — including offset, toner, and web and cutsheet inkjet — to serve its various verticals. From the left, Sun Print Solutions’ Jennifer Pettinger, CEO, and Sara Deneau, CFO. | Credit: Sun Print Solutions

On its production floor, the company has a dry toner system — a Ricoh Pro C9200 — which is used primarily for shorter runs, as well as an HP Indigo 7900 unit, which uses wet toner. She explains that timing is a primary factor in how a system is chosen for a particular job, prompting the company to choose whatever machine is available. The Ricoh, she says, is best used for general commercial printing applications, direct mail, and quick brochures — non-specialty printing using basic CMYK. The Indigo system, she says, may often be used for more specialized printing due to two specific factors: It offers higher print quality, and it includes white ink. Despite these advantages, she concedes that the click cost on the Indigo is higher and, “specialty work is becoming fewer and farther between.” Between the two systems, she says, quality is equal to the layperson, who is mostly concerned with price. She further highlights the advantages of toner-based printing on jobs that will include embellishments, such as laminates or foil.

For inkjet production, Sun Print Solutions uses an HP PageWide T250 continuous-feed printer, and a Konica Minolta AccurioJet KM-1 sheetfed printer, which Pettinger describes as, “kind of a different beast.” One of its advantages is that it can handle a sheet size up to 23x29", which can allow for ganging of multiple jobs onto a single sheet. Sometimes, a deciding factor between the KM-1 or a toner system comes down to the stock used — coated versus uncoated. Another strong advantage, she says, is “avoiding clicks.” Because of the different economics of inkjet systems, the company has seen a 20-25% reduction in production costs. She adds that the KM-1 is very different from other technologies in the same space because it uses UV-LED ink, a favorable feature she would continue to invest in. About the system, she adds, “The quality was just phenomenal, and UV-LED is great for durability. That’s been a huge plus for us.”

Even given the advantages of inkjet printing, toner-based systems is still highly valued — they enable flexibility. “We find that because we run the gamut,” she explains, “and are a custom shop, we need to be diversified in our equipment. For us, it does not make sense to choose one technology over another.” She says it is common for her shop to test different substrates on its various technologies to see how well they work. “We have such a wide variety,” she adds. “I don’t see us shying away [from anything].”

If faced with a choice of running either toner or inkjet on a job that could be done by either technology, Pettinger says she would opt for inkjet. The PageWide T250, she says, is the company’s go-to for high-production digital printing, and “the KM-1 is better quality than toner devices.” Asked to name one essential capability of the company’s inkjet systems, Pettinger says it is the large sheet size on the KM-1, which she says, “would be hard to do without.” She says operating at that size has “broadened out the capabilities for what we can get on the sheet.”